Part of the Office for Students' UniConnect Programme that was set up in January 2017, LiNCHigher, which is a consortium of all universities and colleges across Lincolnshire, is the first of the 29 UniConnect partnerships across the country to launch such a service to secondary school and college students.

The programme will grant increased access to information about educational journeys, students' aspirations, and the opportunities that higher education can provide, as well as bringing fun activities from education providers from across the country.

First Media, which specialise in creative digital solutions in eLearning, software development, web design, and events, were able to add functionality to their award-winning eProspectus software to create an online learning platform that is simple and secure to use.

LiNCHigher is also in the process of launching a Careers & Higher Education Outreach Hub ready for July 2021, and work with First Media has enabled the project to be fast tracked. The new Lincolnshire Outreach Careers Hub will provide a one-stop resource for all students, parents, teachers, and educational advisors across Lincolnshire seeking support and guidance on all aspects of higher education across the county.

The eProspectus already has an ecosystem in place to engage with learners, advisors, schools, colleges, training providers, and local authorities across Lincolnshire. It's designed to promote careers, pathways, and opportunities available to young people, including a way for year 11 students to apply for a place at college. The system is currently being used by ten local authorities around the UK.

Ian Hargreaves, Education Solutions Director for First Media, said, "We have really enjoyed working on this project with Jonathan and his team. We were able to quickly mobilise our team to produce a sophisticated and expandable solution that grows our existing platform to provide a complete solution for them in an incredibly quick timeframe."

Jonathan Lidster, Project Manager for LiNCHigher, added, "We are delighted to have worked with Lincolnshire-based First Media on this exciting online programme that, despite the current circumstances, enables students across the county to access some great learning resources free of charge.

"We hope that the free online material and courses will help reduce the pressure on teachers and parents. It was also conceived to encourage students to continue their studies, as well as to support and strengthen their decisions concerning their future during this time.

"We look forward to building on this online platform and working further with First Media to get out Outreach Hub released."

LiNCHigher is part of the Office for Students' UniConnect Programme. LiNCHigher, alongside its strategic partners, work in over 40 schools, six colleges and two universities across Lincolnshire, aiming to raise aspirations of young people in discovering the benefits of choosing higher education through information, guidance and impartial advice.